Friday, December 19, 2014

Covers are hard. If you’re like most people, I hope you don’t even try to do them yourself. But even if you hire a pro, it’s easy to wander off the path of good judgment into the jungle of horrific, embarrassing covers.

That’s why we need objective feedback.

Which is where Joel Friedlander, the Book Designer, comes in. Every month, he hosts a cover contest. It’s free to enter, and if you have a cover you love, you really should. It won’t boost book sales directly, but it’s worth it, I promise.

Remember: every single buyer is judging your book by its cover. You can’t escape from that simple fact.

Every month, Joel shows off every cover he gets. Sometimes he adds praise – but sometimes, his comments can sting. One author proudly submitted his cover with the words “Fully designed by the author himself.” To which Joel replied, “That’s apparent.” About another cover, he wrote, “Impossible to tell what was intended here, but clearly this is a disaster.” (My personal favourite: “Pretty much announces: “I’m self-published!” And not in a good way.”)

I have to laugh – even when his criticisms are aimed at me, which they have been a couple of times. Don’t submit anything unless you’re prepared for him to tear it apart.

Most of the covers he gets are for adult books. Why not more kidlit? Maybe because most of us aren’t putting enough money/effort into our covers, and aren’t proud enough of the results.

That’s REALLY got to change. I hope this list inspires you to create excellent covers that will hog all the top spots for 2015.

Here (in no particular order) is my personal Top Nineteen of all the kids’ covers that he’s featured in 2014. NOTE: I haven’t read the books. I’m literally just judging them by their covers.

Down below, you’ll find 10 “misses” and “near-misses” that failed on one count or another to make it to that empty #20 spot in my “top” list. Plus two grownup books with really, REALLY bad covers that make me wonder why anyone would submit them to a contest. And one I loved that inspired me to buy the book.

#1

The Boy Who Loved Fire by Julie Musil. There were many great YA covers this year; I think authors in this category are a lot more serious about their covers than if they’re just writing “kiddie books.” (Again, that’s really got to change.) Joel didn’t say anything when it was listed in January, but in March when he listed it again, he said, “Although a bit overwrought, it is nicely creepy.”

#2

The Little Girl and the Hill by Brett Henley. In January, Joel didn’t like the smallness of the text and I agree – you can’t read the author’s name, even with this fairly large thumbnail. He said the art was lovely but that the cover overall is “a dark and easily skipped muddle.” Still, something about this concept really appeals to me. Like finding a good black t-shirt for a baby, it’s rare to see an all-black cover on a kids’ book. (Caveat: the interior looks similarly all-black, and I’m not 100% sure how good that would look on an ereader.) I do wish they’d re-do the fonts, however.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

I told you a couple of weeks ago all triumphantly how I created a kissable cover and got around Amazon / Createspace’s arbitrary minimum-page requirements for having a proper spine on your book. I succeeded that time with my 100-page chapter book No Santa!

But guess what??? When I tried the same magic again yesterday with an 88-page nonfiction book, Createspace stopped me in my tracks with their silly arbitrariness.

I worked long and hard to create a BEAUTIFUL (if I say so myself) cover, and submitted it along with my interior. Here’s what the full design looks like:

But when I submitted all the files, Createspace’s gnomes went to work destroying all that is good. They must have detected that I was trying to get away with something. When my files were approved for proofing, I went in to take a peek… only to discover this message:

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Writing may be the last thing on your mind at this time of year. So let’s get right to the point with three quick MUSTS you’ve just got to have in your children’s holiday book. Don’t worry, they’re simple, too.

It doesn’t matter what holiday, either. Easter, Chanukah, Shavuot, Eid, they’re all totally different… but the best books have so much in common that you’re going to succeed no matter what you’re writing about.

1) STORY.

Do you love a great story? So do kids. Unless you’re writing nonfiction (and maybe even then), you’ll want to make sure your book has a good, solid story. That almost always means tension. Your character shouldn’t just wake up, prepare for the holiday, celebrate the holiday, and go to bed happy. That’s not a story; it’s a diary entry, and not a very interesting one.

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Before you read any further, you should know: these aren’t exactly reviews. They’re BETTER.

(That’s also why I want you to read this even if you don’t celebrate Chanukah.)

What could be better than reviews?

As writers, we’re at work even when we read for fun (even when we read to our kids), and that’s a serious job. We have to examine each book not simply for whether or not we enjoyed it (like ordinary readers do), but analyzing it to figure out IF it works and HOW it works.

That’s the only way we can make our own writing better.

Working while we read (for pleasure)

When I took a children’s picture-book writing course earlier this year, I had to research “comps” – comparable books on a similar topic. Since I was working on one of my Chanukah books, I decided to research what else was out there in the world of Chanukah books. I chose these books almost at random, but I think it’s a good assortment of what’s out there.

Have fun reading through them, and hopefully discovering a few new favourites.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague

Sunday, December 7, 2014

You’re here because you’re a writer or know a writer, or both. Either you’re looking for the perfect gift that will draw gasps of delight or screams of satisfaction (is that even a thing?), or you’re hoping to pamper yourself in the middle of this season of selflessness.

Either way, here are 15 great ways to give yourself permission to go for it.

If you haven’t tried Demeter perfumes, colognes and fragrances, you should. They’re mindblowingly “real” scents in varieties you’ve never imagined: Tomato, say, or Dirt, or Thunderstorm. They all smell great. Years and years ago, I got a bottle of their gin and tonic scent, and I loved it almost to death. I still have the bottle, which I refuse to use up. I sniff it from time to time when I need a pick-me-up. But what could be a better pick-me-up for a writer in need of inspiration? Available as a home atmosphere spray – to get you in the writing mood! – or as a cologne. (The bottles look similar; make sure you choose the one you want.)

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

You can have that, and I promise you, it’s a great, great feeling. I love books. That’s why I do this… it’s all about the books. Well, that and the kids. (Which do I love more? Don’t push me on this question…)

The secret to gorgeous books is… kissable covers. Covers that you adore.

And when these books came in the mail today, the first hard copies of my chapter book, No Santa! , that’s exactly what I wanted to do. Kiss them, hug them, sleep with them tonight and forever.

I was actually worried that they wouldn’t be this good. Why was I so anxious? Because…

a) this is my first chapter book, and

b) I was worried about the covers, which I created completely on my own, from scratch.

I was especially worried about the spine. Createspace told me that because my book was so short (exactly 100 numbered pages of story), there was no room for words on the spine. Maybe you’ve come up against this problem, too?

I’ve held enough kids’ books in my hands to know that this was total BS. Even very tiny, thin paperback books have words on the spine.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

If your books are exclusive through Amazon’s Kindle Select program through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), they make it oh-so-easy to give away books for free. They make it sound like a privilege, even. Like it’s going to do tons for your books’ sales and your author ranking.

The other school of thought, School B, says (equally loudly) – “Yes, yes, yes! Giving books away for free will help new readers find your books. They will become loyal readers! Free books ‘hook’ them in, like a sample at the supermarket. If they like it, they’re sure to come back and buy more (for actual money).”

As a fairly new writer trying to get established, I’m somewhere in between. I do think freebies help get attention I wouldn’t get otherwise. So I’m still doing them.

I don’t like keeping secrets. I’m going to share what I’m doing here, but I’ll be honest: I don’t really know yet if it’s working. I hope this will be the start of a conversation, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

If you have more than a couple of books enrolled in KDP select, you need a way to keep track of which ones are free at any given time. That’s where this simple 2-step system comes in. Follow these steps, and you’ll never get mixed up again. You’ll also be able to reward your loyal followers with a chance at getting hold of these.